Fund Podcycle and your planet will not explode

A device that takes apart K-Cups has the potential to keep millions of single-use pods out of landfills.

If it gets funded, this little invention could alleviate lots of guilty consciences. (Photo: Kickstarter)

The No. 1 problem with the Keurig coffee machine is the waste from the single-use pods, called K-Cups. Even its creator John Sylvan didn't envision the waste the Keurig would create and said he sometimes feels bad he created it. Keurig finally released recyclable K-Cups for their newer 2.0 machines this year, but millions of older machines still take the old pods that are difficult to recycle. Keurig has said all K-Cups will be recyclable by 2020, but that's five years away.

Enter the Podcycle, a K-Cup Recycler. It's a small device that quickly takes apart a K-Cup so all the individual parts that can be recycled can be done conveniently. It cuts the K-Cup into five different parts: the plastic cup, the filter, the hard plastic ring, the foil and the used grounds. It's difficult to recycle the hard plastic ring, but the plastic cup, filter and foil are recyclable and the used coffee grounds can be composted or repurposed into things such as fertilizer or an exfoliation material for your skin.

The inventor Andrew Grantham, known for his Talking Animal videos on YouTube, has started a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Podcycle.

There are three days left to back this Kickstarter project, and it still needs about $30,000 to get funded. If you use a Keurig and want to be able to easily recycle hundreds of K-Cups you go through yearly, for a pledge of $20 ($25 in CAD), you'll be sent a Podcycle when they're available. Estimated delivery is September 2015.

There are other pledge levels, too, from about $8 ($10 CAD) to about $750 ($1,000 CAD), all with various rewards. A bonus reward, as Grantham points out on his Kickstarter page, is that by helping to keep all the K-Cups out of the landfill, "you're planet will not explode."